Burning Red
by AlphaKappa
Summary: Bechloe AU - 'Before me stood a young woman with dazzling blue eyes and red curls, which framed her delicate features. Simply put, she was gorgeous.' Beca Mitchell, famous DJ and producer, falls for a beautiful redhead - but will the limelight ruin her chances of a happy ending? Rated M for language and adult themes in later chapters.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: This is my first story, so please review and feel free to comment, it's much appreciated :)**

* * *

I had just gotten out of the shower and put on some underwear when I heard the doorbell ring. _Goddammit Stacie, how hard is it to remember to take your keys when you leave the house?,_ I thought to myself as I walked through my bedroom and into the hall to open the front door. Sometimes my roommate could be so annoying, especially when she locked herself out on a regular basis.

I shared an apartment on the Upper East Side in New York with Stacie, my best friend since Kindergarten. We were really close and after graduating from High School, we both decided we wanted to get out of Barden and out into the world. Stacie applied for Psychology at a dozen colleges and ended up getting accepted into NYU. Why exactly Psychology was a mystery to me, but she insisted she wanted to become a sex psychologist. I wasn't one hundred per cent sure that that was actually a thing, but I was glad that Stacie was happy. As for me, I had originally intended to go to LA to make it big as a DJ, but got offered a job at a club in New York instead. And being the best friends we were, we decided to go together. Fast-forward to six years later and I was a well-known (and well-paid) DJ in New York's nightclub scene and Stacie was close to finishing her degree. In short: things were great.

I wrenched the door open with an annoyed sigh. "Stace, stop forgetting your fucking-" I stopped mid-sentence, eyes wide. Before me stood not my friend, but a young woman with dazzling blue eyes and curled, red hair which framed her delicate features. She was gorgeous. And she was looking straight at me. In my underwear. I was frozen, unable to move. Something about her was electrifying, keeping me rooted to the spot.

"Hi," she said with a smile, her eyes slowly moving down my body. Her voice made me stir, made me remember where I was. I let out the huff of air I had been holding in for far too long and slammed the door shut with all my might. _Shit._ What was _that_? That was so unlike myself. I was _Beca Mitchell_. People were throwing themselves at _my_ feet._ I_ made people feel intimidated, flustered, nervous. Not the other way around.

* * *

"So, what was that earlier?' Stacie asked me, grinning from ear to ear. I blushed at the thought of the unexpected visitor I had encountered in my underwear that morning.

"I don't know what you mean," I mumbled and looked to the ground as I went to the cupboard to get us some plates. Stacie, who was standing at the stove stirring the pasta sauce, let out a loud gasp and broke into laughter.

"Beca Mitchell! Are you embarrassed?" she asked, tears in her eyes. "Oh my god, you are! Look at you, you're blushing!" Another wave of laughter took over her, making the blood rush to my cheeks with more intensity. "Since when do you ever get embarrassed?"

"Shut up, Stace," I retorted, still avoiding Stacie's eyes.

"Chloe said you looked a little uncomfortable…" Stacie teased. _Chloe_, I thought, and my stomach fluttered.

"Yeah, well. She surprised me, that's all," I gave back, giving my head a little shake to clear it of the girl's face floating around in the front of my mind. "What was she doing here anyway?"

Stacie fought hard to regain her composure. "We were meant to meet up for a study session, but I forgot."

"Oh," I said. Chloe must be the new friend from college Stacie had been talking about for a while. I had been meaning to meet her, but I'd been so caught up in my work, mixing new tracks and preparing set lists, that I'd hardly left my studio.

"She's coming around tonight by the way, we're gonna watch some movies and maybe go out… Just so you remember to put some clothes on," Stacie teased with a smirk.

"Uh-huh," was all I managed to say before grabbing my plate of pasta and walking towards my studio. I never ate in there for the fear of accidentally ruining my expensive equipment, but right then I didn't care. I would've rather had mushroom all through my turntable than having to have listened to another one of Stacie's jokes.

"Aww come on," she called after me, but I firmly shut the door of my studio, leaving behind a thoroughly amused Stacie.


	2. Chapter 2

I could hear the two of them giggling through the closed door of my studio. Chloe had been over for the past two hours and I hadn't left the room since. Right now, I had to pee badly though, so I didn't have much of a choice than to exit into the living room. And let's face it: I couldn't avoid the redhead forever.

The TV was on and they seemed to be watching some kind of movie, Stacie lounged across one sofa, Chloe huddled into a blanket on the other.

Stacie looked up from the TV. "Hey Beca!"

"Hi," I replied awkwardly, standing in the doorframe, not quite knowing what to do with my hands. _What do I usually do with them? _I thought frantically. Why was I being so weird? I cleared my throat, determined to stop acting like a fool. "I'm Beca, you must be Chloe."

She nodded and smiled. "Want to join us? We're watching Mean Girls." She patted the seat next to her with her hand.

"No, sorry I'll have to pass tonight," I replied with an apologetic smile, not sounding like an idiot for the first time today. I turned to Stacie. "Luke just called, the guest DJ can't make it. He asked me to fill in, so I'll be working tonight."

"Aww that sucks, B. I know this was your only weekend off in a while," Stacie said, sounding serious for the first time today. I knew that Stacie was concerned about me of late. I had been working myself crazy, mixing and performing and producing new tracks, not having much time to relax and wind down. I was stressed and she could tell. Of course she could, she was my best friend.

"You're a DJ?" Chloe asked smiling, cocking her head slightly to the side. I paused, confused. I must not have come up in conversation between the two new friends. Of course I hadn't, the world didn't revolve around Beca Mitchell. I was slightly disgusted at my own arrogance. I shook my head lightly to rid myself of the thought. Stacie raised her eyebrows.

"Umm yeah, something like that," I replied quickly, giving Chloe a smile. She smiled back, making my neck tingle.

"Stace said something about you going out tonight. You guys wanna tag along?" I blurted out, but cursed myself as soon as I'd said it. _Why did I just say that?_ I didn't need the redhead distracting me at work.

"Free drinks?" Stacie asked with a toothy smile. I chuckled despite myself. Of course she would try to get free booze out of it.

"No," I replied apologetically. "But I'll get you into VIP."

* * *

"Beca, can you help me out?" I heard Chloe call from Stacie's bedroom. I had just finished getting ready and was about to leave.

"Just a sec," I called back, checking my reflection in my bathroom mirror for the last time. I was wearing skinny black jeans, a loose tank top and Nike high top sneakers. My brown hair fell loosely and my dark eyeliner gave me a rebellious look. I nodded at my reflection, trying to calm my nerves. No matter how often I performed I still got nervous beforehand, especially when playing some of my new tracks.

Chloe was standing in the middle of Stacie's room, her hands clutching a silver necklace. She wore a tight-fitting dress with black stilettos. Her red curls cascaded down her shoulders and her make-up accentuated the blue of her eyes perfectly. She looked absolutely breathtaking.

"Can you…?" she asked, holding up the necklace with one hand and pulling her hair away from her neck with the other.

"Yeah, sure," I responded and quickly closed the distance between us. I took the necklace from her hands with slightly trembling hands. What was this girl doing to me?

I moved closer to her from behind, my arms coming around in front of her body. It took me a few tries to clasp the lock of the necklace, being distracted by the sheer proximity to her, the smell of her hair clouding my mind.

Her fingers grazed my hand as she let her hair back down, lingering for that one moment longer. I felt my heart beat quickly and loudly, the sound almost deafening my ears. I was in deep trouble and I knew it.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Thanks for the reviews guys, I really appreciate it! :) Let me know if there is anything you'd really like to happen (or not happen) in this story. I've got the plot mostly laid out already, but I'm open some to new ideas or suggestions. And again, please review :)**

* * *

I was deep in concentration, sweat forming on my forehead. As the bass dropped, the crowd went wild. This is what I lived for. I looked over to the centre of the room where I had last seen Chloe and Stacie dancing with a group of guys, but they were nowhere to be seen. As I was matching the next and final song to the beat, a hand touched my shoulder. I jumped, almost smashing into the desk.

"Jesus, Stacie!" I exclaimed, looking into the glassy eyes of my best friend. "You scared the fuck out of me!"

Stacie laughed, tossing her head back into her neck. She was drunk; I could tell from the second that I looked at her.

"Listen B," she slurred, drawing me closer. "I'm leaving with that hot piece of ass over there," she said, pointing at a guy standing at the bar sipping a beer. I scowled. Stacie was always so crude when she'd had a few too many to drink.

"What about Chloe?" I asked her sternly, crossing my arms.

"You're off now, aren't you?" she asked pleadingly. Right on cue David, the next DJ entered the booth. I nodded a hello as he took over and greeted the cheering crowd on the dance floor.

"Yes, but-"

"I haven't gotten laid in two weeks, Beca!" she whined. "Pleeeeease?!"

I laughed; I couldn't help myself. "Who is that even?"

"Ryan Gosling's brother!" she squealed excitedly. He looked up and Stacie blew him a kiss.

"Stace, I don't think he has a brother," I replied chuckling, amused at Stacie's enthusiasm. She hadn't heard me though; her eyes were locked onto him like a lion on an antelope. I shook my head with a grin and fished a hundred-dollar note out of my pocket.

"Take a cab home tomorrow," I said, winking at Stacie and shoving the money down her bra.

"I love you, man," she yelled happily, planting a sloppy kiss on my check before rushing back to the bar. I sighed, but couldn't help smirking at the same time. Stacie left the club with a random guy more often than not, frequently leaving me to drown myself in a bottle of booze on my own.

Across the room, I could make out Chloe standing close to a guy, their bodies almost touching. Her head was next to his as he was whispering something in her ear. A strand of hair fell into her face and he pushed it back, his hand lingering. The sight drove me insane; it was like a furious monster had erupted inside of me, clawing at my chest.

I made my way over to the bar, squeezing through the crowd, occasionally getting stomped on due to my small size. The bartender, who had already seen me approaching, set down a tray of shots as I reached him.

'On the house,' he mouthed with a smile as he tended to the crowd of people shouting their orders. I nodded a quick thanks in his direction and sculled the first three without pausing, slamming the glasses down hard each time. I had to get a grip on myself. Chloe was free to do whatever she wanted. And besides, I wasn't even into women. A light tap on my shoulder from behind sent me spinning around. I looked straight into Chloe's sky blue eyes. My face was only inches away from hers.

"Hey," she said with a wide smile. "That was a really great show tonight. You really blew the roof off this place."

"Thanks," I replied whilst taking another shot. Chloe's speech was slightly slurred and I suspected that she had been drinking as much as Stacie. I'd been keeping an eye on them both throughout the night and it had looked like they'd flirted their way to free alcohol. Not that I was surprised. Stacie was well known for that.

"I hope I didn't interrupt you and your friend," I said with a hint of jealousy in my voice, cursing myself for it. I hoped Chloe didn't pick up on it, but she just giggled, her eyes intently on mine. I wanted to break my gaze away, but I couldn't. I held my breath.

"Just having some harmless fun," she replied mischievously with a wink. My stomach felt like it was doing backflips. "You're not gonna do the rest yourself, are you?" She gestured towards the now half empty tray of shots. I laughed nervously and shook my head, aware of the closeness of our bodies. Together, we quickly finished off the last few. As I drank the last one, I watched Chloe as she tipped her head back, her hair flicking off her shoulders onto her back, exposing the side of her neck. My hand twitched. I wanted nothing more than to touch those red curls. Spurred on by the alcohol that I could begin to feel pulsing through my veins, I raised my hand. But before it could reach its destination, Chloe came crashing into me, yelping in pain. A big guy had just elbowed his way to the bar, pushing the redhead forcefully to the side.

"Hey!" I yelled enraged. "What the fuck do you think you're doing buddy?" Chloe flinched beside me at my loud, harsh tone. He turned around, puffing himself up as he came to face me.

"What's your problem?" he said, his voice low and threatening. His eyes narrowed as he looked down at me. He was huge, his muscles bulging through his shirt, and at any other time I would have backed off.

"What'd you fucking push her for, you dick!" I demanded, stepping closer to him. The top of my head didn't even reach his chest, but I didn't care. Right then, the only thing I cared about was punching his lights out. My sudden rage frightened me, but the monster in my chest was roaring, fuelled on by hormones and alcohol. My heart was racing and I was seeing red.

"Whatcha gonna do," he said menacingly, cracking his knuckles as he leered down at me.

"Let's take this outside," I snarled. Nobody made fun of me like that. Nobody.

He laughed haughtily. "I don't hit little girls, even if they're fucking dykes."

That was it. I snapped. A bellow of rage escaped my throat and just as I was about to lunge at the man, I felt a pair of arms restraining me from behind.

"Beca, calm down," Chloe said frantically. The front of her body was pressed against mine and I could feel her hair tickling against my skin. I trembled, overwhelmed by my rage and another, new emotion I could not quite put my finger on.

"Let it go, it's not worth it," she whispered into my ear, barely audible against the loud bass of the music. I breathed deeply, trying to regain control of my emotions. Suddenly, a particularly bright flash brought my attention back to my surroundings. I turned my head to the side. Countless people had their cell phones out, taking photos and videos in a semi-circle around us.

"Let's get out of here," I mumbled, pulling a stumbling Chloe through the crowd.


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Sorry for the late update and this ridiculously short chapter, folks. I'm in the middle of finals right now - wish me luck! Next update will be sooner.**

Chloe rested her head on my shoulder as I unlocked the door to my apartment. Although she had looked fine earlier at the bar, those last shots must have been the final push for her. She had been drifting off to sleep in the cab and I decided against taking her back to her place and had offered to let her stay at mine.

She mumbled something incoherent as I put my arm around her waist and pulled her inside, closing the door behind me roughly with my foot. Even in this state, the closeness to her and the feeling of her curves pressed to mine made me shaky. We stumbled along the hallway in the dark. I hadn't trusted Chloe's balance enough to let go of her to get the light. And to be fair, I also wasn't feeling too steady myself. As we reached my bedroom, I lightly kicked the door open and pulled Chloe inside by her limp hands. The room was slightly illuminated by streaks of moonlight shining in through the cracks in the shutters.

I stopped by my bed and gently pushed Chloe down. She complied, swaying ever so slightly as she tried to keep herself sitting upright. I took a deep breath and closed my eyes, instantly sending my head spinning. This whole situation seemed so surreal.

"Let me know if you need anything," I managed to croak, my eyes still firmly shut.

As I turned to leave, I felt a hand tug at my arm, pulling me onto the bed next to Chloe. My eyes fluttered open and I found myself gazing directly into hers. She was turned to face me, her body supported by the hand resting dangerously close to my thigh. In the silver moonlight her face glowed, looking more beautiful than I'd ever thought possible. Chloe's eyes were locked onto mine; clouding my mind, and yet making me want nothing more than to touch her, to feel her skin against mine.

I reached up to the single strand of hair that had fallen on to her face and pushed it behind her ear. My hand lingered for a moment, brushing her neck as I pulled it away. She looked down and smiled, biting her lower lip. Her hand moved to my thigh, her touch making my skin feel like it was on fire. She moved closer, tightening her grip on my leg. My heart was beating so fast I could hear it hammering away in my ears like a drum. I held my breath as her face moved in on mine, halting just inches away. She was so close I could count every single one of her dark eyelashes framing her piercing blue eyes.

"I should go," I said shakily, but found myself unable to move. I didn't trust myself around Chloe. I wanted her, but a battle was raging inside of me. Kissing her, being with her, was all I could think about. But it scared me.

"Stay with me," she whispered. I felt her breath against my lips, making my neck prickle and my hair stand on edge.

I longed to press my lips against hers, but I was scared, terrified, of what it would mean if I kissed her, if I gave in to temptation now.

Before I could act, Chloe pulled me down with her on to my pillow. Her arms were slung around my waist and her forehead rested against mine. A few moments passed in which I listened to the sound of her slowing breathing.

"I think we're going to be really fast friends," she whispered with a smile as she closed her eyes, drifting off into a deep sleep.


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Yay! A slightly longer chapter to make up for the last short one. Finally had some time to write during my vacation. Also, some of you may recognise the burger place from somewhere :)**

* * *

A loud bang cut through the silence. Confused and panicked I jumped out of bed, Chloe's arms falling limply off my body onto the bed. Ignoring the dizziness and sudden nausea, I stormed out of my bedroom only to come face to face with Stacie.

"Jesus Stacie, you scared the living shit out of me," I hissed at her in a hushed voice, pulling the door softly shut behind me.

"Why didn't you answer your phone? I've tried calling you like, five times already," she replied in annoyance and crossed her arms. Her hair was put up in a messy bun and her makeup had run.

"Sorry, mother!" I replied mockingly. "I didn't realise I was on call." My growing headache and still present nausea did nothing to subtract from my annoyance.

"Maybe you should check your phone before you get all pissy at me," she replied sharply, walking to the kitchen. I rolled my eyes and followed, tying up my hair as I went.

"My battery's empty," I said to Stacie who was pouring herself a glass of orange juice. "What's so important that you can't just tell me now that you're standing in front of me?"

Stacie gave me a glare and slid her phone over the counter. "Looks like you went a little overboard last night."

I took her phone and was greeted by the headline of an article entitled 'DJ Mitchell Starts Brawl at 1 OAK'. I froze and a sinking feeling shot through to the pit of my stomach. I had already forgotten about the heated events of last night at the club.

"Care to tell me what that was about?" Stacie looked over at me, her left eyebrow raised expectantly.

"It was nothing, you know how the press is. They sensationalise everything," I replied, not meeting her eye.

"It didn't look like nothing in that video," she pressed on.

"Ohh no," I groaned. "They have a video?"

I didn't know why I was surprised. After all, there had been people recording the whole thing on their phones.

"I know you don't want to hear this, but this is about the last thing you need right now. Bad press." Stacie said. She was now facing me, her expression serious.

"I know, I know!" I exclaimed and rubbed my temples. My musical career was just starting to take off and more negative press was going to be extremely damaging to my still fragile image. For the past few months, the paparazzi had been following me non-stop, trying as hard as they could to sell a story to the press. They had had marginal success, but Aubrey, my publicist, had always been able to do sufficient damage control. I didn't know how I was going to get out of this one though, seeing as I had almost lunged at the guy who had pushed Chloe.

"Well, either way," Stacie said, breaking the silence. "You should call Aubrey. Your voicemail is probably exploding already."

I groaned at the thought, but went to plug my phone in to the charger anyway. As soon as the home screen came up, I was bombarded by countless notifications. Twenty emails, twenty-four text messages and fifteen missed calls of which most were from Aubrey. I could already tell this was going to be a horribly long day.

* * *

My phone beeped once again that evening and I paused my track to read the text message that flashed across the screen. It was from Jesse, one of the first friends I had made in New York.

**Jesse (7:37 PM)**

**You alright Beca? Haven't heard from you in a while and you haven't been answering my calls.**

I sighed. I had been busying myself in my work so much I had neglected pretty much everyone around me since the club incident a few days ago, failing to answer calls or texts that weren't of professional nature.

**Beca (7:39 PM)**

**Yeah I'm fine. Just been mixing some new tracks, keeping busy.**

A few seconds after I had sent the text, a new message popped up.

**Jesse (7:39 PM)**

**Well you're taking a break tonight. We're going out for burgers. I'm coming over in 20, no excuses.**

I groaned inwardly, but maybe it wasn't such a bad idea to get out. And besides, Jesse always managed to put me in a brighter mood.

* * *

Jesse was sitting across the table from me in what he had claimed was the best burger joint in New York City. When I had seen the place from the outside, I scoffed at him, expecting it to be a joke. It was situated next to a taxidermist and an adult bookstore and it had a red door as an entrance. "Don't judge a book by its cover," was all that Jesse had said to me, a knowing smile playing on his lips.

"And? How is it?" Jesse asked me with a grin, gesturing at the burger in my hands.

"This burger is so good, it's like Christmas in my mouth. Meat Christmas," I admitted. Jesse laughed.

"I told you so," he replied with a wink. I took a huge bite and chewed vigorously.

"So what was all that business in the news about you hulking out?" Jesse asked as he placed his burger down. I laughed at his joke, almost choking on my food in the process.

"He was being a dick," I stated.

"No!" Jesse exclaimed and opened his mouth in false shock. I playfully slapped his arm.

"No seriously though," I said. "I was hanging out with one of Stacie's friends at the bar and he just pushed her and refused to apologise." A little bit of anger welled up inside of me as I thought of the last comment he had made towards me.

"That still doesn't sound like a good enough reason to go apeshit like that," Jesse remarked, picking up his burger again.

"Yeah, well… I don't know. He was rude," I responded and busied myself with my milkshake.

"You've been having a little bit of trouble with the press lately, huh?" he remarked as he drew circles on the table with his pointer finger, creating a small pile of crumbs.

"Yeah, it's been crazy," I sighed. "It's pretty tiring and frustrating at the same time. Everywhere I go I'm followed. It's like they're just waiting for me do to something stupid."

"Like at the club-" Jesse said, but stopped abruptly when he saw my expression.

"Alright, sorry," Jesse said quickly, dropping the matter. "So who was the friend you were out with?" He wiped his mouth with the paper serviette, leaving a big, red smudge on it.

"Uh, her name's Chloe," I said, trying to supress a big smile. Even just saying her name filled me with excitement. "She goes to NYU with Stacie. Apparently they have some kind of class together."

"What's she like?" he asked, looking at me intently.

"Oh you know, she's cool," I replied, trying to sound as blasé as possible. I quickly took another big bite of my burger.

"Uh huh," Jesse said with a slight smirk. "Looks like you think she's more than a little cool."

I shrugged and kept my eyes fixed on my plate as I chewed the last piece of food. Jesse chuckled.

"Alright then. We ready to go?" he asked, throwing his napkin onto the empty plate in front of him.

As we got up to leave, the man who had been serving us approached us.

"Can I get a photo for the wall?" he asked nervously, pointing towards the wall to their right, which had several framed photographs hung up on it.

"Sure," I replied with a smile, pulling Jesse close and posing for the picture as the man held up his camera.

* * *

"Seriously?" I asked half incredulously, half amused. I stood in the hallway in my pyjamas, looking at Stacie with raised eyebrows.

"Well you can't blame me for asking, it's all over the media!" Stacie responded in a slightly defensive tone. "And you do hang out a lot," she added as an afterthought.

"Stacie… Jesse and I have been friends for years, there's absolutely nothing going on," I said earnestly. Aubrey had showed me a number of articles that morning in which Jesse and I were pictured with headlines suggesting we were secretly dating. I wasn't surprised, but I wasn't pleased about it either. I knew the media would have jumped to that conclusion at some stage, but I was sure they were only using it now, so shortly after the club incident, to boost their sales.

"I promise to tell you if I'm dating someone, okay?" I said to Stacie who still looked slightly upset. She shook her head, as if giving herself a shake.

"Alright," she replied cheerily, making me slightly concerned by her sudden, extreme change in demeanour. "I'll take your word on it," she said with a wink.

I laughed. "Great!" Stacie was so strange sometimes.

"See you tomorrow then," she said and retreated back into her bedroom. Just as I had turned around to leave, I heard her call out. "Oh and by the way, Chloe is coming around tomorrow night to hang out. Just so you know to put on some clothes."

"Ha-ha!" I called back sarcastically and firmly shut my bedroom door. A smile played on my lips as I recalled our first encounter. I sighed. Stacie was never going to let that go though. As I lay down in my bed and closed my eyes, I couldn't help the flood of excitement that took hold of me at the thought of seeing Chloe again.


End file.
